Probably the most mysterious and scariest home projects involve electrical work. Those people not familiar with electricity might expect lightning to come shooting out of sockets and switches when you want to work on them. That won't happen...unless, of course, you start working around the wiring when the power is still flowing.
Play it safe and get an inexpensive circuit alert voltage tester that lets you know if it's okay to go to work. Just place the tester on the wiring (or device and if it lights up the wire is live. This lets you know if you've turned off the wrong circuit breaker or fuse, or if there's a problem with the breaker. Fix it before you do anything else!
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